off pasture, onto pellets.

[Zass]

So I bought a little doe who was weaned at 5 weeks and kept as a pasture rabbit.
14 weeks old now.
She's bright eyed, friendly, and has a nice coat, but thin would be an understatement.
I need to get her transitioned onto what I feed (Manna pro sho pellets) and her weight up to a healthy level without killing her. I have been putting some grasses and greens in her pen, since that's what she's used to, and I'm trying not too feed too many pellets at once.

Today her stomach is distended HUGE.
It's scaring me.
I'd be grateful for advice or experience with this kind of thing.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I would give her some simethicone drops (for gas) or Gas-X strips. Also, get her moving! Take her out of her cage and encourage her to run around. You can also massage her abdomen to break up the gas.

In the future, it might be best to give her a breakfast of greens and hay and then offer pellets later in the day so she doesn't eat too many on an empty stomach.

Good luck with her! :clover:

 

[Secuono]

I toss some pellets out into the grass pen for a couple weeks [little more each time] before caging them up again. GasX and getting her moving again should help. Might work to go with straight hay for several days, then introduce pellets and no greens anymore.

 

[Dood]

I cannot add anything about feeding and I hope she is just filling up from being starved but she could also be suffering from parasites.

Hepatic coccidia will cause huge fluid filled pot bellies, enlarged livers and a skeletal body with practically no muscle tissue.